Travel
Best wellness retreats to recharge your batteries
Wellness retreats offer an ideal opportunity for some all-important me-time. From single day retreats to week-long escapes, these spaces offer you the chance to rest and recharge, while meeting new friends and trying new things.
If you’ve not been on a retreat before, it can be daunting to know which one is right for you. Whether you stay at home or abroad, go on a culinary adventure or unwind with yoga, there’s a whole abundance of retreats to discover and enjoy.
Here we select our favourite wellness retreats, with full details of where you can plan your next break.
The Noon Reboot Retreat
Escape to a retreat in the Yorkshire Dales with the Noon team. This soothing weekend, based at Broughton Hall, offers the opportunity to immerse yourself in nature and completely reboot.
Hosted by Noon founder, Eleanor Mills, and forest guru, Liz Dawes, this retreat is all about leaving behind the things that no longer serve you. This is done through therapeutic group sessions, gentle yoga, walks in the woods, wild swimming, and sound baths.
Taking place over four days, accommodation for the retreat offers an equally supportive environment for you to completely unwind in too. Broughton Hall, a historic house sitting in a stunning country estate, boasts a state-of-the-art swimming pool, steam room, sauna and hot tub. What’s more, these heavenly spa facilities sit in a glass gallery that look over the glorious Yorkshire Dales. Utter bliss!
The retreats run twice in 2022 – from 3-6 May and then again 23-26 September.
Find out more about the Noon Reboot Retreat
Women’s wellness retreat with We Are Nutrition and Jess Horn Yoga
Allow yourself the ultimate chance to rest, reset and recharge. The Women’s Wellbeing Retreat, from Tuesday 10th May to Friday 13th May 2022, is based at Fair Oak Farm Country Estate, a stunning Grade II Listed Sussex farmhouse nestled in a 12-acre estate in the Sussex countryside. It’s ideal for perimenopausal and menopausal women to help bring mind, body and soul back into balance.
Run by We Are Nutrition and Jess Horn Yoga, this retreat centres around holistic healing. Yoga classes, offered by experienced yoga teacher, Jess Horn, are tailored to help manage and ease some of the symptoms associated with perimenopause and menopause, such as anxiety and mood imbalance.
The retreat also offers fascinating nutrition workshops with We Are Nutrition. Each workshop has been designed to help women understand the role that nutrition may play in navigating menopausal symptoms – from fatigue and hot flushes to weight management. These workshops are a fantastic opportunity to learn new strategies, while sharing experiences with a supportive group of like-minded women.
There will also be plenty of free time between classes and workshops, giving you the opportunity to relax, explore the stunning estate, or make lasting friendships with the women on your retreat.
Find out more about the Women’s Wellbeing Retreat
The Mindful Physios therapeutic retreat
The Mindful Physios is the brainchild of two friends (and fully-qualified physiotherapists) Julie and Becky. The wellness retreats from The Mindful Physios focus on building strength and flexibility in a way that suits your body. Upon arrival, you’ll receive a one-to-one session with either Julie or Becky to discuss your body’s individual strengths, talk over any injuries past or present and identify areas of your body that need more attention.
Over the course of the weekend, you’ll enjoy regular Pilates and yoga sessions, as well as morning mobility classes. These sessions are taught from a physiotherapist perspective, with form being key to each exercise, ensuring you move each muscle correctly and efficiently. Beginners are more than welcome, with each workout explained fully.
Delicious and nourishing vegetarian food is served throughout the weekend, prepared by expert chefs, Katrina Whittaker and Jasmin Eloksha. Katrina and Jasmin use flavours inspired from a variety of cuisines, including Indian, Thai, Sri Lankan and Mediterranean to produce the most flavoursome breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Plus the odd bit of cake here and there!
You’ll enjoy plenty of downtime too. With breaks between classes, you can enjoy reading, countryside walks or indulge in a beauty treatment. Whether you love to practice mindful walking, or prefer a massage, there’s plenty of opportunity to fully relax before you take on the outside world once more.
Find out more about The Mindful Physios
Eumelia culinary retreat
Leading the way for Greek rural breaks, Eumelia is a high-end retreat on an organic farm in southern Greece. Choose from a series of foodie breaks – from their culinary tour to olive oil immersion. Indulge in Mediterranean cooking while seeing a side to Greece that’s away from the tourist trail.
Explore ancient olive groves and tuck into farm-to-table feasts each mealtime. You’ll learn how to grow and cook delicious Greek dishes that you can enjoy long after you’ve left the retreat.
There’s also plenty of time to do your own thing too – from private massages and hiking, to soapmaking and biking.
Simply Healing detox retreat
The Simply Healing detox retreats offer residential detox and weight loss programmes to kickstart your health and wellbeing journey. Whether you’re an avid juicer and need to get back into the habit, or are new to the whole thing, the supportive team on the retreat will guide you through.
One important thing to bear in mind with this retreat is that juice and soup make up the majority of the menu. While this method is guaranteed to cut out caffeine, added sugar and alcohol, you may experience headaches and exhaustion so make the most of the early bedtimes.
Juice side-effects aside, there’s plenty of downtime to enjoy. Take walks in stunning scenery, enjoy low-impact exercise classes or indulge in a beauty treatment. Indian head massage, exfoliating scrubs and detox massages are all on offer.
Simply Healing limits its retreats to 10 spaces, giving the getaway an exclusive feel. You’ll bond with your fellow detoxers around the dining table while enjoying your juice. With a 68% return rate for visitors to the retreat, you may well make friends for life.
Find out more about Simply Healing
No 1 Bootcamp Fitness Retreat
No1 Bootcamp is a family-run business. It’s helped thousands of people achieve their health, fitness and weight loss goals since 2008. The friendly camp combines effective, modern training techniques with the latest technology for optimum results.
Renowned for its full-body transformations and focus on internal health overhauls, No1 Bootcamp conducts a 1:1 consultation with each guest upon arrival, using a state-of-the-art InBody body analysis machine.
The bootcamp has a cult following for a reason. Its team of top trainers are true experts, with decades of fitness and nutrition experience behind them.
You’ll learn in a group environment, with plenty of 1:1 support. Classes include boxing, fasted cardio, weight training, body pump, aerobics, spinning classes and nature hikes. Not for the faint-hearted, participants can expect up to seven hours of training and activity per day. Understanding that every person is different, the team tailor training and nutrition to each guest’s age, personal goals and unique genetic makeup.
Find out more about No 1 Bootcamp
